Texas A&M regent wants stadium named after Johnny Manziel

It used to take more to get a stadium named in your honor.

It helped in the old days if you were rich and owned the team and could simply strong-arm your name on to the edifice (think Wrigley Field or Crosley Field).

Even the great Paul Bryant has to share the venue name at the University of Alabama, although the Bear does get first billing at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Denny part is named after former school President George Hutcheson Denny, who lived from 1870 to 1955.

Corporate sponsorship — who could forget Edison’s hostile takeover of Anaheim Stadium? — has only cheapened the naming rights process.

My personal view is you should never erect a statue or name a stadium after any living person for fear his, or her, actions could backfire faster than a Donald Sterling press conference.

But that hasn’t stopped one Texas A&M regent from already wanting to rework Kyle Field’s name to honor quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Regent Jim Schwertner thinks the stadium should be christened “Kyle Field: The House that Johnny Built” to honor quarterback Johnny Manziel.

While Manziel performed great feats in his two years as the Aggies quarterback, including winning the Heisman Trophy as a freshman in 2012, it might an overreach.

Manziel never won a national title for Texas A&M. In fact, he lost four home games in his two years at Kyle Field. That would get you booed out of some home venues.

Manziel has also been a questionable role model and even tweeted last year that he couldn’t wait to get out of College Station.

What’s more, he was the No. 22 pick of this year’s National Football League draft, not the first.

I’m also not sure you should name a stadium after someone who had two teammates picked higher on the same day.

Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews went No. 6 to Atlanta and receiver Mike Evans went No. 7 to Tampa Bay.

And what if Manziel never pans out as an NFL player? You can bet Washington State is glad it never named its stadium after Ryan Leaf.

Also, Texas A&M regents need to know Manziel’s family has already registered to trademark “The House That Johnny Built” with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office with the intention of using it on everything from shirts and hats to women’s bras.

Wanting to honor Manziel may seem like a good idea now, but Texas A&M regents might want to let Johnny Football’s potential legacy play out at least a few more months.